Despite pending child neglect charges against their mother, the children were allowed to remain with their mom. It's a case that echoes that mother's own experience as a 2-year-old girl.

A mother wept in court in 1992, convicted of neglecting her 17-month-old daughter. The child died.

That baby, Marisol Serrano, was the little sister of Angelica Belen, who nearly died of neglect herself as a toddler.

Belen now faces homicide charges in the deaths of her own three children in that fire earlier this month in West Allis.

She is accused of leaving the children home alone locked in a bedroom at just 4 and 5 years old.

Belen's sister told WISN 12 News she tried to get the children help, but the state wouldn't do enough to remove them from Angelica's care.

"I feel they have a lot to answer for, especially since we've been through this before," Angela Belen's sister told WISN 12 News.

Still, a leading child advocate in Milwaukee said things are getting better.

"One of the things that's disturbing about the dialogue surrounding this tragedy is that people are saying, 'Oh the system is so broken, we can't do anything.' People need to keep calling," Kids Matter Inc. Executive Director Susan Conwell said.

However, Conwell said the West Allis case points out the need for child services to work more closely with police and prosecutors who had already filed criminal neglect charges against Belen, yet the state still didn't remove the children from the home.

"It's the only child welfare system that is reviewed by itself. The Department of Children and Families is going to be reviewing the case, and I think it's fair to ask if that's going to be sufficient here," Conwell said.

Belen is scheduled to be back in court Thursday.

There are resources for parents in crisis. Many of them available at the social service number 211.